Do you feel as though you’re struggling to engage with your email audience? Are you wondering if your email copywriting needs improvement?
How can you make your written word stand out amongst the
masses of emails everyone seems to be receiving on a daily basis?
In this technology-driven world, almost everyone is just a step away from their smartphone, tablet or laptop, often equipped with an easy to use “swipe to delete” feature, there is no denying the importance of strong and attention-grabbing email content, but it can often be difficult to know how to achieve it.
How can you ensure that your email subscribers will open your emails, read them and click that link to conversion?
We run through our 5 top tips for successful email copywriting below:
Never underestimate the ability of your subject line
Usually, the first thing a reader will see, it needs to grab attention in an inbox full of competition.
A key skill in email copywriting is keeping the subject line short. Could you also inject some humour or personality, perhaps an emoji to make the text pop a little? Intrigue your email subscribers, make them want to find out more.
If you’re targeting a specific segment of your list that may be at a specific stage in the buying cycle use the opportunity to answer any questions they may have. For example, ‘Do you wish you could….’ or ‘Do this every day to…’ and so on.
Remember that whilst entertainment can indeed add value, it should never take the place of good old-fashioned clarity, no one likes to feel deceived, which could lead to people unsubscribing. But leave something for the imagination.
Get as personal as possible
We know you may not be able to send individual emails out to every single member of your list, but you can consider the different groups of people you have in your subscriber lists and segment your audience.
The type of recipient should help you form the call to action, and subject line material – ensuring that both are tailored to target the reader in the best way. Are you appealing to buyers or fellow businesspeople, what stage of the buying cycle are they currently at, what will help them solve their problems? Write your subject line and content to provide them with some sort of benefit, making YOU stick out in their mind.
So, you’ve mastered the subject line in your email copywriting– now what?
Don’t forget to keep the copy of the email S.H.A.R.P
Short. Human. Awesome. Relevant. Pitch-Free.
With hundreds of emails rushing into your audience’s inboxes every day, it can be difficult to ensure that your email will actually be read. You can, however, help to secure that read by keeping it S.H.A.R.P.
- Short – Try to make sure your email is no longer than 20 lines – studies have shown that the highest click-through rates are attached to emails less than 20 lines or 200 words, so make every effort to stick to this length.
- Human – Ideally, the person reading your email is a human, so remember to approach them as such; steer away from jargon and spiel or any hard marketing lines. Write in the second person – using “you” and “yours” pronouns. Appeal to the reader directly.
- Awesome – The fact is the information you’re sending out needs to be interesting, impressive even, it should help to establish you as a master of your trade and should consistently provide what your reader wants. Once a reader has read one email from you and found it to be “awesome”, they will be more likely to follow the call to action and read the next email you send them. Fall too short of this ideal, and they may never open another of your emails again.
- Relevant – Above all else, your email copy needs to match the subject line. Both need to be timely and relevant to the recipient. If you miss the mark even once, you will quite possibly lose that potential customer forever.
- Pitch-Free – Don’t just send out emails singing your own praises and selling your wares. Give value to the reader as opposed to self-promotion will help to keep them interested. Offer your email recipients something for free instead of using the email copy as another opportunity to deliver your sales pitch. Consider benefits rather than features.
Add a strong call to action
Whether a link to click or a button to press, make sure that you have a clear call to action contained in your email. This should be clear and easy to identify so that even if your reader only scans the email, they can still quickly pick out what they could or should do.
Track the email and send it twice
We all know that only a certain percentage of subscribers will open the emails we send, by tracking who opened it, and even who clicked through and then resending the email to anyone who didn’t (with a different subject line); you naturally increase your chances of the recipient opening the email. Perhaps they were just genuinely busy and forgot, or perhaps the second subject line will appeal to their senses in a better way.
By tracking what your list does when the email hits their inboxes, you will be able to fine tune what works for your list. A/B test those subject lines and call to actions until you are seeing a consistent rise in click-throughs and conversions.
To sum up
No email campaign is fool-proof. No amount of impeccable email copywriting will ensure that every single recipient opens the email, reads the content and then follow the call to action. However, by sticking to the above rules without fail you will certainly increase your chances of conversion.
Source: https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2019/04/29/5-top-tips-for-successful-email-copywriting/
